Just Stop Oil demonstrators glue themselves to “The Hay Wain” at National Gallery, demanding a halt to new fossil fuel projects.
Two climate activists from the group Just Stop Oil staged a protest at London’s National Gallery on Monday, gluing themselves to the frame of John Constable’s renowned painting The Hay Wain. The demonstration aimed to draw attention to the UK government’s plans to approve new oil and gas projects, which the activists argue contribute to a climate crisis threatening future generations.
In a symbolic act, the protestors, identified as Eben Lazarus, 22, a music student, and Hannah Hunt, 23, a psychology student, also pasted over the original artwork with their own reimagined version. Their altered depiction of The Hay Wain included an old car parked in front of the mill and a washing machine on the hay cart, symbolising the environmental degradation they claim is inevitable if fossil fuel extraction continues. The activists, wearing white Just Stop Oil T-shirts, crossed a security barrier before affixing the printed dystopian imagery to the iconic artwork.
As security swiftly evacuated visitors from the gallery, the demonstrators knelt in front of the painting, placing their hands on its frame while loudly voicing their concerns about climate change and government inaction. Lazarus, who described himself as an art lover, passionately declared, “Art is important, but when there is no food, when there is no water, when billions of people are suffering—what use is art?”
The Hay Wain, completed by Constable in 1821, is widely considered his most famous work. It portrays a peaceful rural Suffolk scene, but the activists argued that their reimagining was a visual representation of humanity’s potential future under unchecked environmental destruction. Lazarus stated, “We have stuck a reimagined version of The Hay Wain that demonstrates our road to disaster.”
Hunt also addressed the crowd, calling on the UK government to end its plans for 40 new oil and gas licences, warning that this would push the world towards an “unliveable climate” and result in widespread crop failures and global suffering. She emphasised, “You can forget our ‘green and pleasant land’ when further oil extraction leads to food shortages. Ultimately, new fossil fuel projects are a death sentence for billions.”
A spokesperson for the National Gallery confirmed the incident, stating that the room was closed to the public and that police had been called. The gallery’s conservation team was also involved in assessing any potential damage to the artwork.
The protest is part of a larger wave of actions by Just Stop Oil, which has also disrupted events like the British Grand Prix and targeted other cultural institutions. Last week, five members of the group reportedly attached themselves to a 19th-century landscape painting by Horatio McCulloch in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, while also vandalising the gallery with the group’s logo in orange paint.
The Metropolitan Police responded to Monday’s protest, confirming they were called to the National Gallery at 14:25, but no arrests had been made at the time of reporting.
The activists’ actions are a direct challenge to government policies on fossil fuel extraction, which they claim are accelerating the climate crisis at the expense of both the environment and future generations.
